Electricity grid operator to build backup ops center in Lincoln

The quasi-state agency that runs California’s electricity grid is building a backup operations center in Lincoln.

The Independent System Operator, or ISO, is spending $18 million to build a backup facility at the Lincoln Aviation Business Park. A groundbreaking ceremony was set for Tuesday afternoon and the two-story, 35,000-square-foot building is scheduled to open in December 2016.

“This is strictly in case there’s an incident and we need a backup facility,” said ISO spokeswoman Anne Gonzales.

She said the new building will replace a backup 20-employee facility in Alhambra, near Pasadena. The ISO decided it made more sense to have the backup center located in the vicinity of its headquarters in Folsom.